Career Sprint Cup Wins: 18
Career Sprint Cup Top-10s: 162
Career Sprint Cup Poles: 10
Career Sprint Cup Wins: 18
Career Sprint Cup Top-10s: 162
Career Sprint Cup Poles: 10
Hometown: Kannapolis, N.C.
Resides: Mooresville, N.C.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a third-generation driver in a family forever connected to the sport of stock-car racing; and while his innate ability behind the wheel comes from Earnhardt DNA, his competitive driving style and keen business sense are all his own. His flair for originality and common-sense charisma has helped propel him to be one of the most popular figures in sports. Race fans have selected him seven times as the winner of NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver award; joining Bill Elliott as the only drivers to win it six consecutive seasons since 1956. His appeal is not limited to race fans, as he has appeared numerous times on Harris Interactive's annual polling of America's Top 10 Favorite Athletes, joining such names as Michael Jordan, Brett Favre, and Derek Jeter.
The 2011 season marks Earnhardt's 12th in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition. Through 2010, the native of Kannapolis, N.C., has amassed 18 career victories, including the 2004 Daytona 500. His 18 victories tie him for 40th on NASCAR's all-time race winners list. He also has six "non-points" wins (three in the Gatorade Duel, two in the Budweiser Shootout and one all-star victory) and 10 pole positions.
Earnhardt is the only third-generation NASCAR champion, a status he achieved when he won the 1998 and 1999 Nationwide Series titles. He follows his legendary father, the late Dale Earnhardt Sr., a seven-time Cup champion and winner of 76 races. “Senior” was elected as one of the first inductees to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. His grandfather, Ralph Earnhardt, was the 1956 NASCAR Sportsman champion, and in 2007 was inducted posthumously into the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame. Both his father and grandfather were selected among NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers of all time in 1999. The three Earnhardts have a combined 10 NASCAR championships.
With a successful driving career in motion, Earnhardt's role as team owner and businessman has enjoyed its own ascent. In 2002, JR Motorsports consisted of only six employees and a street-stock Camaro raced at the local short tracks. Today the organization employs more than 100 people and encompasses a full stable of cars that competes in the Nationwide Series and local weekly late model divisions. In July 2007, Earnhardt announced a partnership deal with Hendrick Motorsports -- under the JRM banner with Hendrick Motorsports engines, chassis and vehicle engineering support -- to field two Nationwide Series race teams. JR Motorsports earned four victories in 2008, four more in 2009 and one in 2010 to establish itself as one of the top contending organizations in the Nationwide Series. Earnhardt’s company continued making headlines in December 2009 by signing open-wheel racer Danica Patrick to a two-year driving deal with primary partner GoDaddy.com. The move grouped two of racing’s most popular athletes under one roof.
Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion
Career Sprint Cup Wins: 85
Career Sprint Cup Top-10s: 396
Career Sprint Cup Poles: 70
Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion
Career Sprint Cup Wins: 85
Career Sprint Cup Top-10s: 396
Career Sprint Cup Poles: 70
Hometown: Pittsboro, Ind.
Resides: Charlotte, N.C.
Family: Wife–Ingrid, Daughter–Ella Sofia, Son - Leo
After 18 full-time seasons and 671 races, Jeff Gordon remains the standard to which all other drivers aspire in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing. He holds the record for active drivers in virtually every statistical category kept about the sport.
The 2010 season saw Gordon claim 11 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes and finish ninth in the championship standings. The four-time champ also extended his streak to 18 consecutive seasons with a pole after earning the top qualifying spot at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October. He sits sixth all-time in career wins with 82, and fourth all-time in career poles with 69.
In 2009, Gordon finished third in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. He earned four poles, which extended his streak to 17 consecutive seasons with a pole, along with 16 top-five and 25 top-10 finishes. He sits sixth all-time in career wins with 82, and fourth all-time in career poles with 68. He also scored his 1st career victory at Texas Motor Speedway. With eight second-place finishes, his 10.2 average finishing position led the series. He led the standings for nine weeks and spent 30 of 36 races in the top-three points positions. He began the Chase as the sixth seed and delivered consistent performances that vaulted him to third. His 581 consecutive starts leads the series.
Gordon began racing at the age of 5. By the age of 6, Gordon had won 35 main events and set 5 track records. By the age of 13, Gordon took an interest in the 650-horsepower Sprint cars. Supporting his career choice, Gordon's family moved from Vallejo, California to Pittsboro, Indiana, where there were more opportunities for younger racers. Before the age of 18, Gordon had already won three short-track races and was awarded USAC Midget Car Racing Rookie of the Year in 1989. In 1991, Gordon climbed into a USAC Silver Crown car, and at the age of 20 he became the youngest driver to win the season championship.
When there were no opportunities available in open-wheel racing, someone suggested that Jeff try out the Buck Baker Driving School at Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina. When Jeff drove his first laps in a stock car, he declared to his parents that this was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
In 1991, Gordon made his entry into stock-car racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and won the Rookie of the Year award.
In 1992, Gordon set a NASCAR record by capturing 11 poles in one season. That year marked the first time the Nationwide Series cars ran at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He sat on the pole and also won the race, turning many heads in the process. One person who took immediate notice was Rick Hendrick. The rest is history. Jeff became a part of the Hendrick Motorsports family and has continued the winning tradition ever since. His desire to drive was fueled by gritty determination to win races and championships, which has remained throughout an unparalleled career in racing.
In 1993, Gordon raced his first full season in Sprint Cup for Hendrick Motorsports, in which he won a Daytona 500 qualifying race, the Rookie of the Year award, and finished 14th in points. In 1994, Gordon collected his first career victory at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Coca Cola 600, NASCAR's longest and most demanding race. Additionally, Gordon scored a popular hometown victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the inaugural Brickyard 400.
As a result of his incredible talent behind the wheel Gordon, nicknamed “The Kid” by the late Dale Earnhardt, Sr., has rewritten the NASCAR Cup Series record book and forever etched his name as one of the greatest to ever compete.
In addition, Gordon is NASCAR’s most philanthropic driver on behalf of charitable causes. The Jeff Gordon Children's Foundation was founded in 1999 to help support the physical, social and intellectual needs of children. His Foundation is partners with the Children's Oncology Group, Riley Hospital for Children , Be the Match, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the Make a Wish Foundation, and Athletes for Hope.
He has appeared on numerous national television programs, has hosted Saturday Night Live and made several guest-host appearances on Regis and Kelly.
Career Sprint Cup Wins: 55
Top-10s: 224
Career Sprint Cup Poles: 25
Resides: Charlotte, N.C.
Family: Wife - Chandra, Daughter - Genevieve
Jimmie Johnson continued making professional sports history in 2010 when he extended his streak of consecutive Sprint Cup Series championships to five. With his 39-point victory over runner-up Denny Hamlin, Johnson became the first driver in the seven-year history of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship to overcome a points deficit in the season finale and only the third since 1975 to do so in any format.
Johnson’s success on the track was only surpassed when he and his wife, Chandra, welcomed their first child, Genevieve Marie on July 7, completing an incredible year professionally and personally.
Sprint Cup Series Career
After nine full seasons and 327 starts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Johnson enters his 10th season driving the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Lowe’s Chevrolet with momentum. Since entering the series full time in 2002, Johnson has never finished outside the top five in the final driver standings – and has only finished outside the top two twice.
He is the only driver to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup each year since the format was adopted in 2004 and is the all-time Chase wins leader with 19. Johnson, who joins Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt as drivers with five NASCAR Sprint Cup championships, needed just 327 races to win his fifth title. Petty took 655 events while Earnhardt accomplished the feat in 390.
Johnson was also voted Driver of the Year for the fourth time in his career, joining Jeff Gordon as the only other four-time winner of the prestigious award.
In 2009, Johnson made history by becoming the first driver to ever win four consecutive Sprint Cup titles. He also made history as the first race car driver named the Associated Press's Male Athlete of the Year in the organization’s 78-year history.
The 35-year-old El Cajon, Calif.-native clinched his first championship in 2006 finishing 56 points ahead of second-place finisher Matt Kenseth. He followed that up in dramatic fashion with a 77-point win over teammate Jeff Gordon in 2007. His third championship came in 2008 when he edged out Carl Edwards by 69 points. His fourth and record-breaking title came in 2009 when he finished 141 points ahead of teammate Mark Martin.
The Early Years
While Johnson’s success on and off the track has come in a relatively short amount of time, it took years of hard work, dedication and help from a variety of people to get there.
With the support of his family, Johnson’s racing career started on 50cc motorcycles at the age of five. His father, Gary, worked for a tire company and his mother, Cathy, drove a school bus. With Jimmie and younger brothers Jarit and Jessie in tow, the family spent most of their weekends camping and doing what they loved - racing. During these weekends, it wasn't unusual to see Gary preparing the tracks for the kids to race and Cathy running the concession stand.
Johnson was successful on motorcycles at an early age. At eight-years-old, he won the 60cc class championship despite blowing out his knee with several races remaining in the season.
From motorcycles, Johnson graduated to the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG) Stadium Racing Series where he won more awards. A 1993 meeting arranged by his mentor, supercross champion Rick Johnson (no relation), proved fortuitous for the eager driver.
While racing at the Los Angeles Coliseum, Rick Johnson introduced his young protégé to the Executive Director of GM Racing, Herb Fishel. The young Jimmie Johnson lived up to his billing, impressing Fishel with his driving ability and business acumen.
Fishel kept his eye on Johnson that year. He later walked into an off-road racing team meeting and threw a picture of Johnson on the table informing the team that he was the man they needed to drive their car.
Johnson seized the opportunity, spending the next few years driving buggies and trucks in off-road stadium and desert races. Johnson also improved his ability to connect with fans and potential sponsors by reporting for ESPN in the Short Course Off-Road Drivers Association Series (SODA).
In 1995, the work paid off in another way as Johnson met his future stock car owners Stan and Randy Herzog. The following year Johnson began driving the Herzog’s off-road truck. In 1998 Johnson was ready for his next opportunity and crafted a proposal, taking it to his friend, Fishel. Fishel gave the owners and their ambitious driver a shot and that year Johnson climbed behind the wheel of an American Speed Association car. He got his first taste of pavement racing and never looked back.
His many victories in the ASA Series paved the way for his move to NASCAR (initially in the Nationwide Series) where his winning ways continue as the current NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion.
The Jimmie Johnson Foundation
Johnson and his wife, Chandra, launched the Jimmie Johnson Foundation in 2006. The foundation is dedicated to helping children, families and communities in need. In March of 2007, the couple opened Jimmie Johnson’s Victory Lanes, a four lane bowling center for campers at Pattie and Kyle Petty’s Victory Junction camp in Randleman, N.C.
In addition to supporting organizations such as the Hendrick Marrow Program and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Johnsons host the annual Jimmie Johnson Foundation Golf Tournament in San Diego. Since its inception, the tournament has raised more than $2 million for Johnson’s hometown of El Cajon, Calif., helping fund projects such as the construction of four Habitat for Humanity homes.
In 2009 and 2010, nearly $1.5 million was awarded through the Jimmie Johnson Foundation/Lowe's Toolbox for Education Champions Grants program. Public schools in California, Oklahoma and North Carolina, where the Johnsons grew up and currently reside, received grants to address basic needs including science and technology, outdoor classrooms, playground construction and accelerated reading programs.
Career Sprint Cup Wins: 40
Top-10s: 438
Career Sprint Cup Poles: 51
Hometown: Batesville, Ark.
Resides: Daytona Beach, Fla.
Family: Wife–Arlene, Son–Matt
Career Sprint Cup Wins: 1
Top-10s: 16
Career Sprint Cup Poles: 1
Hometown: Eau Claire, Wis.
Resides: Charlotte, N.C.
In 2011, Menard joins the Richard Childress Racing family piloting the No. 27 Menards Chevrolet. Menard will join RCR teammates Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer for his fifth full season of NASCAR Sprint Cup competition.
In 2010 Menard wheeled his bright yellow Menards-sponsored Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports after a merger between his former team, Yates Racing, and the team owned by the "King" of NASCAR. Menard completed the season with a career best six top-10 finishes.
For the 2009 season, Paul Menard and his sponsorships with Johns Manville, Moen, Richmond Water Heaters, Turtle Wax, Energizer, Pittsburgh Paints, Nibco, Zecol, Peak, Vertus, Sylvania, Quaker State® and Menards moved over to the No. 98 Ford Fusion for Yates Racing. Paul Menard has shown limited improvement in 2009, running in the top 10 many times only to have problems. His best finish was 13th twice, in Texas and Talladega.
In 2008, the Eau Claire, Wis. native claimed his first career pole in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway in July while piloting the No. 15 Menards Chevrolet for DEI.
During 2008, he continued his representation of Johns Manville, Turtle Wax, Moen, Sylvania, Quaker State, Pittsburgh Paints, Splash, Peak, Energizer and Akona. Menards remains the primary sponsor for the No. 15 Chevrolet carrying the neon yellow paint scheme around the track and across the country.
Menard’s sanctioned racing career began to take shape at just 8 years old when he won the Briggs Junior Class Championship in his hometown of Eau Claire, Wis. He later won the Briggs Medium Class Championship before working his way up the proverbial racing steps. Menard began ice racing when he was 15 years old and went on to win 10 International Ice Racing Association events in his career. To date, Menard continues to compete in IIRA events during the NASCAR off-season.
Menard made his foray into NASCAR competition in 2003 and has since proved to be a rising star. Menard posted his first NASCAR Nextel Cup Series top-10 finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the spring of 2006. Still a full-time NASCAR Busch Series driver, Menard continued to show strength by earning great finishes, including his first NASCAR Busch Series victory at the Milwaukee Mile in June 2006. Overall, Menard earned one win, 10 top-fives and 16 top-10s and a sixth-place finish in the 2006 championship standings.
The 2007 season faced several significant challenges for the driver of the No. 15 team. Not only was Menard required to qualify on speed for the first 19 races of the season, but with as many as 55 cars showing up to each race, qualifying was nearly as notable as winning in '07. In addition, many consider the competition among the Raybestos Rookie class to have been at an all-time high last year, and Menard was awarded Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors at four events throughout the season.
Despite these and other challenges, Menard remained focused on finding track success and returned in 2009 with a more veteran outlook on competition.
Hobbies include riding dirt bikes, Sudoku, working out and playing video games His favorite moment in racing: Winning the ARCA Race at Road America in 2001.
